Noel Tata has been appointed as the chairman of Tata Group’s philanthropic arm Tata Trusts, succeeding his half-brother Ratan Tata who died on Thursday aged 86.
With this appointment, Noel Tata has become the 11th chairman of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the sixth chairman of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust.
Noel Tata has been appointed as the chairman of Tata Group’s philanthropic arm Tata Trusts, succeeding his half-brother Ratan Tata who died on Thursday aged 86.
With this appointment, Noel has become the 11th chairman of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the sixth chairman of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust. These two entities collectively own around 52 percent of Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate.
Noel, 67, is the son of Naval H Tata and Simone N Tata, and the half-brother of Ratan Tata. He is a trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sussex and attended the International Executive Programme at INSEAD business school in France.
Noel Tata Career
Noel has been with the Tata Group for over four decades. He is the chairman and non-executive director of Tata International Limited.
Currently, Noel holds several key positions within the group, including Chairman of Trent, Voltas and Tata Investment Corporation. He also serves as Vice Chairman of Tata Steel and Titan Company Limited.
He was appointed as the Chairman of Tata Group’s apparel retail Trent Limited in 2014. During his tenure, Trent’s stock has surged by over 6,000 per cent in the past decade, making it one of the most successful Tata companies in recent years.
Previously, Noel Tata was the head of Tata International Limited from 2010 to 2021. During this period, the commodity trading company’s revenue grew from $500 million to more than $3 billion.
Noel Tata Family
Noel is married to Aloo Mistry, the sister of Cyrus Mistry and a part of the Shapoorji Pallonji family, which is the single largest private shareholder of Tata Sons with around 18.4 per cent stake.
According to the Tata Trusts website, Noel’s children, Maya, Neville and Leah, are also involved in the family’s charitable activities, serving as trustees of various charities associated with Tata Trusts. Son Neville Tata joined Trent in 2016 and is currently head of Star Bazaar. He is married to Manasi Kirloskar.
Leah Tata, 39, started her career in the conglomerate in 2006. She was an assistant manager at Taj Hotels. At present, she is the vice president at The Indian Hotels Company Limited, the group’s hospitality arm that operates several iconic hotels across the country.
Younger sister Mata Tata played a crucial role in the launch of the group’s Tata Neu app. She has worked at Tata Digital as well.
Unanimous Choice for Leadership in Tata Trusts
Late Ratan Tata, one of India’s most respected business tycoons, played an important role in transforming the Tata empire into a diversified global powerhouse with a presence across multiple industries.
According to Tata Trust's official website, there are 13 trusts across the two trusts, with five individuals serving as common trustees for both. The five common trustees are Trent chairman Noel Tata, businessman Mehli Mistry, automobile industrialist Venu Srinivasan, former defence secretary Vijay Singh and lawyer Darius Khambata.
Tata Sons operates all commercial enterprises in the group and collectively reported revenues of $165 billion last year.
Noel was seen as a front-runner to succeed Ratan Tata at Tata Trusts. However, there was also speculation about Ratan Tata’s long-time confidante Mehli Mistry. Historically, only Parsis have chaired Tata Trusts, even if someone has non-Tata surnames and no direct connection to the founding family. The Parsi community strongly supported appointing someone with the Tata surname as the successor and Noel was chosen unanimously. Currently, the Tata Trusts have two key vice-chairmen – Venu Srinivasan of TVS and former defence secretary Vijay Singh – who have held their positions since 2018.
Noel Tata was considered a possible replacement for Ratan Tata as the chairman of Tata Sons after his tenure. However, Cyrus Mistry, Noel’s brother-in-law was appointed to the position. After Mistry’s controversial exit, a seasoned executive from TCS was given the charge.